Learning To Be The Change Makers The World Needs

If you want to start your own company, try to solve something that that’s deeply personal to you. If you are an ordinary person and you’ve just solved your problem, you might have solved the problem for millions of people.

The advice of Airbnb co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky is one of the reasons I have always thought that entrepreneurs are more likely than politicians to help save the world. Admittedly I come from the UK, where we have constant reminders that the only thing our political leaders are trying to save is their own skin.

When the ideas, the energy and the talent of entrepreneurs are incubated by the world’s leading business schools you are incrementally improving your chances of success. The insight and expertise of faculty, the guidance of mentors and practitioners and a vibrant and supportive alumni network can make the difference between success and failure.

So I also believe that business schools will help to make the world a better place.

And the challenges we face today – societal, economic and environmental – require solutions that draw on technological innovation. From healthcare, inclusion and agriculture to clean energy and infrastructure, innovative companies are essential to drive positive change.

If we are going to make a positive difference, we need to collaborate. That is certainly the philosophy of INNOVA Europe, a student challenge for sustainable development impact launched in 2022. Supported by Microsoft Italia, three of Europe’s leading business schools – Italy’s POLIMI Graduate School of Management, France’s EDHEC Business School, and Germany’s ESMT Berlin – invited students from bachelor to master’s level to submit innovative proposals that address any one of the specific challenges outlined in the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Fostering entrepreneurship and driving positive impact are at the core of our school,” shared Tommaso Agasisti, Associate Dean for Internationalization and Quality at POLIMI GSoM. “By collaborating with EDHEC Business School and ESMT Berlin, we emphasized the importance of technology, innovation, and collaboration in creating products and solutions that have a meaningful and lasting impact.”

After reviewing close to 50 submissions, each business school selected a national finalist that spent four months working with the incubators of each institution to further develop their start-up ideas. The finalists presented their projects in Milan last month to a jury that included corporate representatives and venture capitalists.

In a welcome address, Luba Mandolova, Director of Modern Work, Security, SMB Marketing & Business Development at Microsoft underlined the commitment at Microsoft to support the impact that entrepreneurial endeavours can have on society. “At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and we feel it is our responsibility to be the force and influence to drive positive change.”

Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing are able to combine care for the environment and support for European economic growth, and it is precisely for this reason that it is becoming essential to offer new generations of students a wealth of skills, knowledge and competences for building more sustainable economies and societies,”

All the finalists impressed the judges with their detailed business plans, their creativity and their entrepreneurial spirit. Given the collaborative nature of INNOVA Europe, they could all be considered as worthy winners, and as Federico Frattini, Dean of POLIMI GSoM shared, “all of the ideas have a future.”

Oyster2Life from Italy aims to help and preserve the marine ecosystem, recognizing the contribution of oyster beds to help the world’s oceans to breathe, and giving a second chance and life to oyster shells through an innovative recycling initiative. The venture is already attracting interest from industry and is looking to develop 3D-printed blocks to generate thriving new oyster beds in the Adriatic Sea.

One Planet from Germany offers a simple and effective marketplace for companies that want to purchase Biodiversity credits – an economic instrument that can be used to finance actions that result in measurable positive outcomes for biodiversity.

Dooda from France produces insect-based ingredients, an alternative source of nutrition that can feed the world more sustainably. Their products are 100% natural, nourishing, and generate zero waste. Through their sustainable agriculture system, they work on improving food security while mitigating climate change impacts.

“The three projects inspired us, and they all demonstrated their desire to do something with higher purpose for society,” Dean Frattini observed. “It is the responsibility of a business school to create these opportunities and to give a platform for these ideas, to make things happen, and to create an environment where these ventures can be amplified.”

The importance of responsible entrepreneurship is a priority for Ludovic Cailluet, Associate Dean, Centre for Responsible Entrepreneurship, at EDHEC Business School. The school aims to inspire budding entrepreneurs to see themselves as individuals that can lead a movement, encouraging them to integrate ESG factors much earlier into the design of their businesses.

“INNOVA Europe participants showed us what’s possible if we bring entrepreneurial insights and creative thinking together. I was also pleased to see that students were focused on creating sustainable products and businesses from the get-go because this is the way we must think and act from now on” he said.

Dooda was announced as the ultimate winner of INNOVA Europe 2023. The venture, co-founded by Aziz Kaouech and Ali Abassi receives €5,000 in prize money and free incubation services offered by a choice of one of the three academic incubators of the partner Schools – PoliHub, EDHEC Entrepreneurs, or Vali Berlin – to develop their initiative and take it to the next level.

But for all of the finalists, the connections they have made and the experience of being part of INNOVA Europe will guide them throughout their entrepreneurial journey, and it is certain that the collaborative nature of the competition and the guidance all teams received throughout the process will enable their projects to thrive.

Roland Siegers, Director of External Engagement & Early Career Programs, ESMT Berlin, believes we are entering an age of unlimited possibilities, and innovation is going to drive change in societal systems.

“By empowering the creativity of tomorrow’s leaders, this competition works as a catalyst for change. Young innovators unite to tackle societal, economic, and environmental challenges head-on and learn to be the change-makers the world needs”.